Court Expert Says Macic Suffers From “Mild Retardation”

Macic, a former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been charged with participating in the torture and sexual abuse of detainees at the Musala school building in Konjic from April-October 1993. He is also charged with the murder of four old women in the village of Blaca in 1992.

After examining Macic’s mental functions and medical records, Kucukalic said that he was emotionally immature, had insufficiently developed intellectual capabilities, an impaired memory, and a limited vocabulary.

According to Kucukalic, the defendant suffers from mild mental retardation. He added that Macic has an IQ of 59, and that typically the lower limit of IQ is 80.

Kucukalic also reviewed medical documentation from a medical commission of the Yugoslav National Army in 1988, which declared Macic unfit for military service.

Kucukalic had been asked to specify the mental illness Macic was diagnosed with at that time, and to describe how his mental health had changed from 1988 to the present.

“I have noticed a war trauma that appeared after he was wounded in 1992, which has caused severe mental consequences, as well as symptoms of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. I have determined that the examinee’’s ability to understand the significance of the crimes he is charged with as reduced, but he can participate in the court proceedings and answer simple questions,” Kucukalic said.

Kucukalic also received documentation from a medical commission of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which declared Macic fit for military service in 1995. Kucukalic said he had reviewed those documents as well, but said that they did not specify any diagnosis.

“The criteria for declaring a person capable of military service are more strict in peacetime than in war. A person with an IQ of 59 would be considered fit for service during war, but not during peacetime, because of the specific circumstances of war,” Kucukalic said.

Prosecutor Sanja Jukic said that the medical commission of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared all previous decisions invalid.

“This is a permanent diagnosis and a disease that cannot be cured. This is a congenital condition. Damaged nerve cells cannot be repaired,” Kucukalic responded.

The trial will continue on February 27.